The arduous job of climbing palm trees.

Few people know that behind the production of the famously delicious palm sugar lies a great deal of hard work. Every day, the men of the Bay Nui region have to toil, climbing high up to harvest every drop of sap.

Hardship in the early morning

From Long Xuyen City, if you want to witness the people of Bay Nui climbing the palm trees, you have to leave at dawn to be on time. It took us more than two hours to reach the palm forests. In the early morning, as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the palm leaves, the locals enthusiastically climbed high to collect the sap. The plastic jars clattered softly in rhythm with the men's quick footsteps, creating a pleasant sound. For travelers from afar wanting to capture beautiful photos, early morning is the ideal time.

Hidden deep within the palm forest, the locals quietly collect the honey in jars, gathered from the previous night. They work tirelessly year-round. People often say this profession is "eating on the ground and doing work in the sky," and it's quite fitting. Every day they spend time in the trees collecting honey, meticulously using knives to peel and press each palm flower. Visitors who know how to climb should try climbing the "bamboo pole" (made of bamboo and tied tightly to the palm trunk) to understand the hardship of the job. When I climbed about halfway up the palm tree, my arms and legs were exhausted, and I could no longer grip the pole.

Growing up in the countryside, I had pretty good tree-climbing skills. However, when trying to climb a palm tree dozens of meters high, I couldn't reach the top and had to give up. Seeing my exhaustion, Mr. Nguyen Cong Chuc (40 years old, a palm tree climber) chuckled. He's been in the profession for 20 years, enduring hardship to raise and educate his children. Mr. Chuc recounted that his parents were poor and mainly earned their living by climbing palm trees and selling palm sugar during the tourist season. As he grew up, he helped his family raise his younger siblings, and that's how he honed his skills to this day.

Mr. Chuc climbs high to harvest palm sap.

Currently, Mr. Chuc climbs up to 60 palm trees every day. During the peak season for harvesting palm sap, he has to wake up as early as 3 a.m. to be able to produce sugar in time to sell to local businesses. Mr. Chuc said that this job is very difficult, not easy at all. After talking for quite a while, he suddenly showed me his two hands. It was horrifying to see a deep crack cutting across several fingers. I gently pressed his hands, feeling a shiver down my spine because of the rough, calloused skin. "Sometimes it hurts so much when I straighten them out! Now, my hands are so calloused that I can't straighten them," Mr. Chuc said.

I hope to find another job.

Furthermore, Mr. Chuc lifted his foot, revealing a thick, hard layer of skin. Mr. Chuc said that every day he climbs over hundreds of old, thorny bamboo stalks. Initially, when he first started, both his feet ached intensely. Gradually, over time, the calloused skin thickened, relieving the pain. However, his hands, constantly climbing, still ache. Because of his livelihood, he endures the pain and continues his job of climbing palm trees to collect sap.

Sitting under the shade of a palm tree, resting, Mr. Chuc is very proud of the traditional craft that has been preserved for generations, providing employment for a large number of local laborers. He shared that he harvests 300-400 liters of sweet sap every day. “5 liters of sap yield 1 kg of finished sugar. Every day, I make 60 kg of sugar, selling it to traders for 26,000 VND/kg. Making sugar from rice husks takes about 5 hours. So, I earn more than 1 million VND per day after deducting all expenses,” Mr. Chuc explained.

According to statistics, the palm forest in An Phu ward (Tinh Bien town) has about 14,000 ancient palm trees. Every day, the residents of Bay Nui supply the market with tens of tons of delicious, famous palm sugar. Every morning, if tourists come here and look up, they will see the locals "climbing to the peaks" to harvest the sweet sap.

Seeing how arduous the job of climbing palm trees was, Mr. Chuc wanted to change professions and find other work. However, many people who went to work far away in Binh Duong province and Ho Chi Minh City became unemployed and returned to their villages to work as laborers to make a living. Therefore, he tried to cling to the profession to earn a living day by day. In the scorching midday sun, looking up at the palm trees reaching towards the sky, we saw Mr. Chuc quickly and carefully carrying jars full of sap down to the ground. His wife waited, pouring the sap into plastic containers to take home to make sugar. For generations, palm trees have been closely associated with many families, providing them with a sustainable income.

The Bay Nui region has over 70,000 palm trees, planted by local people over 100 years ago and passed down through generations. Every year, the palm trees yield their sap during the peak harvest season from January to June (lunar calendar). During these peak months, when sugar prices are low, many families stockpile it to sell gradually during the off-season. Older palm trees that no longer produce sap are cut down by locals to make handicrafts.

LUU MY

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/nhoc-nhan-nghe-leo-thot-not-a420370.html